“Wherever she plants her feet, she does so with righteous conviction and a strong sense of her own voice” - NPR Music
“…a soulful, Southern groove” - Rolling Stone
“With an ambition ‘to bring the light of music into places of darkness,’ it’s clear that ‘Fear’ and the other nine tracks from her upcoming LP unapologetically and convincingly do just that.” - American Songwriter
“Electrifying” - The Boot
Photo credit: Hannah Miller
Today, Nashville-based singer/songwriter Kyshona has released her new single "Listen," the title track from her forthcoming album due out on February 28. "Like spoken word poetry put to music, the song presents a series of questions that lead to the main point in the chorus that repeats, 'Why won’t you listen?'" Audiofemme said in its premiere. "She opens the song with a powerful question: 'Why you gotta interrupt/when I’m not done talkin’?’ before proclaiming 'Yeah, I know you want to help/but you’re deaf to the mission.” The song conveys Kyshona's frustration with those who are more interested in the “gory pieces” of her work – with such organizations as the Oasis Center, which supports at-risk youth, or teaching songwriting to women who are incarcerated at the Tennessee Prison for Women – than they are with the meaning behind it.“'Deaf to the mission’ to me means you’re not even hearing the purpose behind what I’m doing,” Kyshona told Audiofemme. “My mission is to be a voice and a vessel for those that feel lost, forgotten and silenced.
LISTEN: "LISTEN"
For the music video, Kyshona called on friends and family, pairing them up to have playful, yet effective arguments with each other. "They could feel that hum underneath while they were acting,” Kyshona recalls of the scene, "Listen" playing in the background to create the tension needed to illustrate the track's meaning. “This is what the song feels like," she told Audiofemme. "It’s just this tense moment. It’s about people and feelings...I hope people take a moment to really think about how can they listen more – or better.”
WATCH: "LISTEN”
"Listen" follows the release of "Fallen People," a reminder that we can all find commonality in our humanity, and recently unveiled single “Fear,” which explores the impact of fear-driven self-isolation. “The song trudges along with swampy acoustic and electric guitars, Hammond organ swells and tight drums that sit right in the pocket. Mixing soul, R&B, blues and folk, ‘Fear’ fits in perfectly with the sounds of retro roots contemporaries like Leon Bridges and Anderson East,” said American Songwriter of the soulful empowerment anthem. In uplifting lead single "Too Much,” a Mavis-Staples-style organ-laced gospel-tinged groove, Kyshona sings about finding hope in the midst of overwhelming circumstances.
WATCH: "FALLEN PEOPLE”
LISTEN: "FEAR"
LISTEN: "TOO MUCH"
Kyshona has always lent her voice and music to those that feel silenced or forgotten. She began her career as a music therapist, writing her first songs with her patients – the students and inmates under her care. She soon found the need to write independently and find her own voice, an endeavor that led her to the fertile ground of the Nashville creative community and its collaborative songwriting culture. Kyshona has successfully melded her music career with her passion to heal the hurting; audiences will find a common thread of empowerment, overcoming adversity, and finding hope in her work.
Her new LP Listen was co-produced with Andrija Tokic (St. Paul & The Broken Bones, Alabama Shakes, Hurray For The Riff Raff) and recorded mostly at his famed Nashville studio The Bomb Shelter. In each of the album's 10 tracks, Kyshona blends roots, rock, R&B, gospel, and folk with lyrical prowess to uplift the marginalized and bring awareness to the masses. It's for every silent scream, every heavy load, every fearful thought, and a simmering sense of anger that the repressed, the lost, and the forgotten try to hide from the world. "I’ve been thinking a lot about purpose," she says. "When I write and when I perform I am often thinking of what my point is. What is my purpose? What is my mission? At this particular moment in these particular times, my mission is to be a voice and a vessel for those who feel silenced and forgotten." After her powerful performances, concertgoers often ask, "What can I do?" Her response? “Listen."
TOUR DATES:
1/22-1/26 - Folk Alliance International - New Orleans, LA
1/28 - AmericanaFest-UK [official showcasing artist] - London, UK
1/31 - Cafe #9 - Sheffield, UK
2/1 - The Royal Oak, Eccleshall - Stafford, UK
2/8 - Walt Disney Concert Hall - Los Angeles, CA
2/14 - New Spire Arts - Frederick, MD
2/15 - Bedford Public Library Concert Series - Bedford, VA
2/26 - Analog - Nashville, TN [ALBUM RELEASE SHOW]
3/5 - 20 Front Street - Lake Orion, MI
3/6 - The Robin Theatre - Lansing, MI
3/26 - Agnes Scott College - Decatur, GA
3/29 - White Gull Inn - Fish Creek, WI
5/7 - WUWF Radio Live - Pensacola, FL